College debt is a major issue for many people, and paying it off can be even more daunting. Credit cards are not always the answer- but there are five ways to budget in order to make sure you’re covering all of your expenses while staying on track with your student loans.
The “student loan forgiveness” is a popular topic on the internet. Many people are looking for ways to pay back their student loans while still enjoying life. Here are 5 tips that will help you budget for your travel expenses.
Find a job. Explore the globe. Pay off your student debts.
At first appearance, pursuing all of these objectives at the same time may seem unachievable. How can you tour the globe if you have to work every day in an office? And, if you have a lot of school debt, you must be financially irresponsible to travel, right?
These interests, according to five digital nomads we talked with, aren’t mutually incompatible. On the contrary, you can learn to travel with student loans and establish a meaningful profession at the same time. You could even be able to migrate to another nation with student loan debt.
So, how did these freelancers find a balance between travel, business, and school debt repayment? Here are some of the tactics they used.
More strategies and techniques to travel the globe with student debts may be found here.
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1. Spending less money in a low-cost-of-living location
Quincy Smith had one big objective when he graduated from the College of Charleston with a degree in international business and Spanish: to explore the globe. Quincy understood he needed to earn a respectable livelihood while living overseas since he had school loan debts to pay.
He obtained a job Educating students in English in Asia, but he wanted to be “location independent,” meaning he wanted to be free to travel between cities and countries anytime he chose. Quincy built his competence in search engine optimization (SEO) and acquired freelancing customers to offer himself that independence, making it easier for him to quit his employment.
“I found two clients before I sent in my notice,” Quincy said, “so I had a bit of a safety net before taking the jump.” “I purchased a one-way flight to Thailand.”
Quincy now works as a consultant for SEO, and he’s launched his own website, ESL Authority. His unique work path has enabled him to reside in Thailand, China, Japan, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, and the Philippines, among other places.
Quincy has been able to pay off his debt quicker by making additional payments while living overseas since he gravitates toward areas with a cheap cost of living.
“I have a reduced cost of living mostly because of cheaper accommodation and the lack of a vehicle,” Quincy said. “Insurance is also less expensive than in the United States.”
Quincy has not only been able to pay off his debt faster, but he has also been able to achieve other financial objectives.
“Being a digital nomad has allowed me to pay off my debt and invest more money,” he added. “The lower cost of living is directly tied to this.”
Quincy can utilize his salary to pay off debt and save for the future since he keeps his spending low.
franz12 / istockphoto / franz12 / istockphoto / franz12 / istockphoto /
2. Making additional payments to accelerate payback
Robert Schrader, a digital nomad like Quincy, benefits financially by living in a low-cost-of-living city like Bangkok, Thailand.
“Everything I need is cheaper here, from accommodation to transportation to healthcare,” Robert said. “Travel is even more affordable since Bangkok is one of the world’s most well-connected aviation hubs. I save around $1,000 each month compared to what I was spending in the United States, and I’m also living in a much better home.”
Robert makes additional payments on his college debts with the money he earns from his websites Leave Your Daily Hell and Japan Starts Here.
“I’ve begun paying more aggressively,” he explained. “My monthly payment is $320, but I [voluntarily] boosted it to $420 in 2018.” This month, I paid $500, and I want to continue doing so throughout 2019.”
Robert is eager to pay off his college debt today, but he wasn’t always like this. He postponed his student loan payments for a few years after graduation, a choice he now regrets owing to the additional interest he accrued.
“If it’s not life or death, don’t go into delay or forbearance,” Robert suggested. “Looking back, my deferral was primarily for convenience, and it’s a choice I’m now paying for.”
Fortunately, Robert is making up for his previous financial blunders by living a digital nomad lifestyle.
“Now that I’ve been living overseas for two years, I’m beginning to feel the benefits in my bank account in a large manner…. “I’m trying to pay off my debts in the next five years or less by living overseas,” he stated.
Image courtesy of izusek.
3. Using a single lump-sum payment to crush the remaining debt
James Pollard, the creator of TheAdvisorCoach.com, a marketing firm that works with financial advisers, may live anywhere he wants. His favorite vacation spot is Cancn, Mexico, but he also enjoys living in different parts of the United States, most recently in Nashville, Memphis, and Clearwater Beach, Florida.
“I liked the lifestyle, and I’d been following some individuals online who were generating money as digital nomads,” James said. “I ended up doing the same thing as them.”
He claimed that the $19,000 in school loan debt he had didn’t limit his mobility since payments was fully automated. He followed the normal 10-year repayment plan with set monthly payments for the first few years.
As his company flourished, James continued to put money into his savings account — until he decided he wanted to pay off his college debts for good.
“I simply got up one day and decided, ‘I want to get out of this debt,’” James said. “I simply wanted to feel the rush of watching the debt disappear, so I transferred the funds and paid it off completely.”
James recognized that investing his funds was a better option than paying off his low-interest student loans since he worked with financial consultants. But he didn’t want debt hanging over his head any longer, so he took the risk of paying off his whole total in one go.
Vladimir Vladimirov is the author of this image.
4. Using income-based repayment to reduce payments
Being a digital nomad doesn’t always imply that you’ll cut your costs and generate a lot more money. For some digital nomads, the ability to work from anywhere implies that their income may suffer, at least briefly.
Kate Downes left her job as an acupuncturist to pursue a career as a health writer and content consultant, allowing her to travel full-time. However, her financial account did not immediately profit from her choice.
“My income is significantly lower than it was when I was actively practicing,” Kate said, “but it is happily rising, and I am much happy in my job.” Kate hopes to spend the following year in Cancn, Mexico, Edinburgh, Scotland, and Amman, Jordan.
Kate placed her school loans on an income-driven repayment plan to keep on top of her payments. REPAYE and IBR are income-driven programs that modify your monthly payments depending on your disposable income to keep your debts from becoming too heavy.
Because Kate owing $150,000 between her undergraduate and graduate degrees, an income-driven plan was a lifeline for her.
“While I haven’t made much progress on my debt repayment this year, I was able to live on a very modest budget and keep up with all of my loan payments while I created my new company,” Kate said.
Kate believes she would spend more time establishing her company before traveling across the world if she could do it all over again.
“Had I spent more time preparing and building my digital company in the year leading up to taking on the nomad lifestyle, I would have been able to earn and save more money, as well as prevented a lot of worry, anxiety, and financial issues,” Kate stated.
She does, however, urge other aspiring digital nomads to not let debt deter them from following their ambitions of living in a foreign country.
“Don’t allow your student loan debt get in the way of your dreams!” she said. “One of life’s finest lessons is travel, and I wouldn’t be the same person I am now if I hadn’t taken advantage of this chance.” Give it a go and see what you can come up with!”
Vladimir Vladimirov is the author of this image.
5. Keeping track of monthly financial flow using a budget
James Feess, co-founder and travel writer of The Savvy Backpacker, spends a lot of time in Europe and New York City. He keeps track of his trip expenditures and revenue since they might mount up quickly.
“The primary expenses are transportation and lodging,” James said. “I’m constantly on the hunt for low-cost flights….” When it comes to choose where to visit these days, money is a key factor.”
James and his wife owe roughly $65,000 in student debts for their undergraduate and graduate degrees, which is part of the reason they must be so frugal. They’ve stayed to the regular 10-year repayment schedule, although they’ve made additional payments on occasion when their budget permits.
What advise does he have for aspiring digital nomads who are saddled with college loan debt?
“Stay inside your budget and strive to pay off those debts as quickly as possible,” he said.
NicoElNino / istockphoto contributed to this image.
More strategies and methods to travel the globe with student loans
Is it possible to travel overseas or inside the United States with student loans? Absolutely. Your debts, on the other hand, aren’t going away on their own, so you’ll need tactics for managing them from wherever you are.
The following are a few of the most useful:
- Set up autopay for your accounts so you don’t have to worry about missing a payment.
- Find out whether you need to transfer funds from an overseas account to a bank account in the United States. Take into account any costs or delays that may be involved in the transaction.
- Find the best student loan repayment plan for you, whether it’s the regular plan or an income-driven plan.
- Refinance your student loans to make payments easier and get a reduced interest rate.
- Keep track of your monthly budget so you know exactly where your money is going.
- Consider a low-cost-of-living location. You may have more flexibility in your budget if you reduce your costs, allowing you to make additional payments on your loans and pay off debt ahead of schedule.
If digital entrepreneurship isn’t for you, there are a variety of job programs that might help you travel with student debt.
DepositPhotos.com is the source of this image.
Options for popular job programs
AmeriCorps
The Peace Corps is a non-profit organization that
Educating students in English
Antonio Diaz/ istockphoto contributed to this image.
The Remainder
Although the digital nomad road has its drawbacks, it may provide you with the opportunity to develop a rewarding profession while traveling the world. You may also tackle your student debt by adopting a proactive approach to your personal finances at the same time.
This post was syndicated by MediaFeed.org and first published on StudentLoanHero.com.
RossHelen is the author of this image.
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Depositphotos is the source of this image.
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“Student loans” is a topic that many people struggle with. Here are 5 ways to budget for travel while paying student loans.
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